THE NUMBER of women attending Bushy Park Treatment Centre at Ennis, Co Clare, for addiction treatment almost doubled last year.
According to figures from the residential treatment centre, female residents accounted for almost half of the 158 clients who attended the centre last year. The figures show women accounted for 44 per cent of clients last year.
Centre director Margaret Nash said yesterday that the stigma has now been removed from women attending for treatment for alcohol and other addictions. Seventy-one women attended last year, representing an 85 per cent increase on the 46 who attended in 2006.
The figures show that for the first quarter of 2007, the numbers of women attending outnumbered men by 24 to 20, while in the four quarter there were 20 women and 15 men.
Ms Nash said: "The biggest increase we see are women attending. We always had women knocking on the door because women are increasingly attending for assessment, but they weren't converting that into treatment, but it is happening more and more.
"I believe that from the women who are here, the stigma is broken. Before it seemed to be okay for men to come for treatment, for fathers and brothers."
Ms Nash said there were additional pressures on women.
"There is expectation on women to get back into the family unit and get on in their caring role." She noted that there was only one half-way house in Ireland for women, whereas there were four for men.
Of all those attending, 30 per cent were between 18 and 25 years, while 23 per cent were aged between 26 and 35.